Manga Entertainment to release FMA: Brotherhood OVAs

Just Passing Through

Just Passing Through

The Wildcard
A Blu-ray DVD combo pack set for 22nd October.

Announced on Facebook

We are happy to announce that we will be releasing Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood OVA and Digital Comic in the UK as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack in October. Aiming for 22-Oct street date. Will be online to pre-order by end of May we hopefully. This is the same release as the Funimation version in the US. Includes 2-discs, 4 x OVAs and the entire digital comic series.
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mangaman74 said:
I already have the Funi blu-ray on preorder.
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Me too!

Sort of impressed how quickly Manga went from never having heard of the OVA's existence to producing a release date.

R
 
Cool, I'll just wait and pick this up in October. I'm in no rush to import this from the US.
 
Torn with what to do here, I was going to get this while I was in the US since it;s only $12 on amazon over there but I'd prefer to support the UK release...
 
I'll stick with the US one until Manga adopts a policy of watching its discs once through before release to check for faults ^^;

R
 
Rui said:
I'll stick with the US one until Manga adopts a policy of watching its discs once through before release to check for faults ^^;

R
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For me it is part the above and part the fact that I got the Funi blu-rays for the series so I was always going to get the Funi movie & ovas on blu-ray as well in order to have matching packaging (logos on the cases/slipcovers etc).
 
mangaman74 said:
For me it is part the above and part the fact that I got the Funi blu-rays for the series so I was always going to get the Funi movie & ovas on blu-ray as well in order to have matching packaging (logos on the cases/slipcovers etc).
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Yeah, I don't like mixing mid-series unless it's unavoidable, even if the companies often go out of their way to make their own releases not match one another sometimes! Also with PAL in the mix (as it will be for a combo pack and I do still sometimes watch the DVDs) it can mean that everyone suddenly speaks more squeakily than expected for part of the show, which I'm not wholly keen on.

Actually that's even weirder now - a combo pack could have differently pitched audio for the same show on each format here, couldn't it?

Edit: Just received my packing notification for the US version as I typed that...

R
 
Rui said:
Actually that's even weirder now - a combo pack could have differently pitched audio for the same show on each format here, couldn't it?
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Yup, its a bit funky. Whenever I get a Double/Triple Play bluray sometimes I'll pop in the DVD to compare the video quality, but it's always the higher pitch that I notice first.

Reminds me of when I was a kid, I always used to wonder why songs in films on VHS or on TV sounded higher than they did on CD, I always thought it was just some weird stylistic choice but my mind was blown when I first learnt about PAL speedup!

I wonder if this could mean a UK release for the Premium OVA Collection from the first series at some point? I hope it and the rest of the 1st series aren't caught up in rights hell or something, it'd be nice to see it re-released in boxset form again for those who don't have it.
 
devilrules666 said:
Looks like i will be waiting for the uk release! Nice of manga to tell us before the us release it for once.
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Lets hope they keep this pattern up as it's a key factor

You'll never get round those that import insatantly. This helps with those that are unsure on how long the UK release will take (good that it confirms BR too). If they can step up the quality control so the releases are just as good as the US ones they might win back a few of those that import to avoid the errors that seem to creap in.

This is of course a long term plan, it needs to be backed with quality releases on time and consistant release date info prior to the US versions shipping.
 
In this particular case they made a mistake and didn't realise the OAV existed until a fan asked whether it was ever coming on Twitter, but if they hadn't tripped up there they could well have managed to announce it before the US version started shipping, or ideally, before it went up for preorder in the first place, which makes it easier to consider their editions. MVM has done that with their Mayo Chiki acquisition so I haven't had to go straight into autopilot towards a potential foreign version, and Kaze has been good about this too.

In the short term, it wouldn't have helped for FMA as I don't buy region B blu-rays and also strongly dislike PAL conversions for the series I enjoy most, but if things improve over time it will hopefully coax me back to my own region again for blu-rays, at least. I'm still waiting for a really good reason to convince myself to buy a multiregion (i.e. region B capable) player, and there still hasn't been one. Hopefully Kaze's upcoming discs will be bug-free and do the trick.

Sadly, the quality control here is consistently poor. Hearing that the Hetalia movie has introduced an additional glitch the R1 didn't have is just the latest in a long list of reasons I'd currently prefer to import Manga UK titles even if our discs came out the very same day as in the US. The US companies play on this, because if I order the R1 Hetalia movie when it comes out, they give me special packaging and a bonus item. If I wait for Manga UK's, only to find out it's inferior, I might have missed out on the special version from the US and feel doubly cheated by Manga UK's mistake. It only takes a couple of frustrations to get people changing their buying patterns, as the abortion of the FMA Brotherhood blu-ray release made apparent.

Then there is also the feeling that my purchase counts for more in the US. If I buy xxxHolic and it doesn't sell enough copies in the US for Funimation to release any more, I feel sad but know I did the best I could. If I wait for Manga UK's version (as I did), Funimation's sells even fewer copies while my purchase from Manga UK achieved nothing in terms of getting more of the show brought over since Manga UK would never dub an obscure TV show themselves unless it sold on par with something like Naruto. I find that frustrating.

As an importer, for most shows it's not about waiting a few extra months for the UK versions that pushes me abroad so much as these other considerations, plus the annoyance factor of announcements coming after things have been ordered, paid for and shipped. I will almost never cancel an order once it's been placed, and I always order from the US the moment solicitations go up to help the first week sales figures.

Winning back importers is a complicated topic, and I'm not sure it's even that lucrative or worth their time. It's cheaper to have them spend a few hours on social networking sites to get a few more preorders in from the masses than to have an intern watch the discs they release to check them for bugs prior to mass production, it seems.

R
 
I dont mean to piss everyone but which ovas are we talking about? Cause I dont see any information about that. Its special episodes or what? :oops:

Anyway, its good to hear that the all family of brotherhood its coming out in the uk.
 
Rui said:
if they hadn't tripped up there they could well have managed to announce it before the US version started shipping, or ideally, before it went up for preorder in the first place, which makes it easier to consider their editions. MVM has done that with their Mayo Chiki acquisition
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Manga have done that with Summer Wars, Eva and Hellsing and I think ended up getting in trouble with FUNi.

[edit: oops.]
 
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